Kissing under the stars
by mirdaishan
Summary: Contains minor spoilers for the S13 finale! When Morgan returns to work for the first time since her disappearance, Greg is of course there for her to help her find the courage to go inside. Morganders/Branders/Grody... you know what I mean! ;)


**Finally a new story for you guys! I know it's been ages, but I've just been so busy at work that I haven't had any time to write! I do have a lot of ideas in my head, now I just have to find the time to write them down! ;)**

**But anyway, here's the story, hope you guys like it! I guess it contains minor spoilers for the S13 finale as this takes place after it, but nothing all too big! :)**

**Enjoy!**

As soon as he got out of his car, his eyes scanned the parking lot. He saw her car a few rows away from where he had parked his own car. It was no surprise to him that she was still sitting in it, gathering the courage to go inside. He started to make his way over to her, moving slowly to give her enough time to see him approaching so he wouldn't scare her. When she saw him, she turned her head away from him, just staring at the entrance of the building. He waited for her to open her door or roll down her window, but when she didn't, he opened her car door himself.

"Hey." His voice trembled a little with nerves as he had been nervous all day long at the thought of seeing her again for the first time since… Well, since Then. They hadn't had any chance to talk since Then: as soon as they had gotten her out, she had been taken to the hospital and then home by her Dad. He had told everyone she needed to be alone for a while and that he had given her two weeks off to recover. Greg knew she had spent most of those two weeks in LA with her mother and stepdad, away from everything that had happened here.

But now she was back and she was supposed to get back to work as if nothing had happened. Yeah, right… As if anyone would be able to pretend nothing had happened! Greg could see in her eyes how scared she was to go inside, afraid she'd have to answer all kinds of questions which would bring her thoughts back to everything that had happened to her. He didn't even know all the details himself, just that she had been through – there was no other word for it – _hell_, but he didn't need to know more. He just wanted her to be alright again.

"They all mean well," he softly said, talking about all the worried questions and looks they both knew she'd get.

"I know." It was the first time he heard her talk since… Then. She spoke softer than she used to, almost as if she was afraid that if she spoke too loud, something bad would happen to her.

"Come on, let's take a little walk," he suddenly suggested, holding out his hand to her. At first it looked like she would stay where she was, just staring at the entrance, but then she slowly turned her head and gave him a little nod. It was such a little nod that he wasn't even sure if it really was a nod, so he kept holding out his hand until she grabbed it. With a loving smile he gave her hand a little squeeze to let her know she didn't have to worry around him. She looked up at him, her eyes empty, almost as if she didn't even see him. It scared him, but he didn't show it. He just kept holding her hand and led her away from the parking lot.

In complete silence they walked a few blocks away from CSI until they found a bench near a group of trees. They sat down, neither of them saying anything. Greg was the first to break the silence: "I didn't bring you here hoping you'd tell me all about… It, because I don't wanna know."

"I know." Her words had come quickly, without hesitation. A little surprised, he looked at her, even more surprised when he saw a small smile on her face.

"I know, Greg," she repeated. "You'd never ask me to talk about something that hurts me, because you'd never want to hurt me. And no matter what you think: what happened to me is in no way your fault! You did everything you could to protect me and when things went wrong, I knew you'd do everything you could to help me."

Another small smile, almost a chuckle, appeared on her face. "I even started daydreaming about it: you coming to the rescue… Of course the real rescue was nothing like I had fantasized, but I guess that's just because my imagination went a little crazy after being locked up for what felt like forever…"

"What did you…" He hesitated finishing his question, looking at her first. She looked much better than she had looked at the parking lot: more relaxed, the little sparkle in her eyes he loved so much had reappeared and she even smiled at him again, knowing exactly what he had wanted to ask.

"Don't laugh at me, okay?" she said. He quickly nodded. "I won't, I promise!"

"Alright then…" She was quiet for a moment, during which he feared she still wouldn't tell him because the memory was too much, but then she started talking: "I was there, waiting for you guys to rescue me. Then suddenly the door would fly open and you'd appear, your gun in your hands and looking around to see if it was safe. You'd see I was alone and you'd quickly put your gun away and come rushing over to me. Then you'd lift me up into your arms and carry me outside, where we'd kiss under the stars…"

He nodded, giving himself time to swallow his nerves. "Right… Sounds very… James Bond like… Was I wearing a tuxedo?"

She grinned at him, a real grin with a happy sparkle in her eyes. He smiled back at her, suddenly feeling very calm and relaxed. For two years he had almost constantly felt nervous being around her, already blushing at the thought of doing more than just talking, but after everything she had been through, he knew things were different now. They both knew they had feelings for each other – as did everyone else for that matter and they all seem to think they were dating anyway already – and now it was just a matter of making it official. He could only think of one perfect way to do that.

"So I actually carried you outside?" he asked her. She nodded. "Yep… Although I honestly have no idea how that got into my mind! Just craziness after being locked up for so long, I guess…"

"Why is me carrying you just craziness?" He tried to sound as innocent as possible, looking at her with his most serious look. She raised her eyebrows up. "Really? Or are you just making fun of me now?"

"No, of course not! I just want to know why it's such a crazy thought. I mean, I could easily carry you!" He shrugged his shoulders, almost as if he was saying that carrying her was part of his every day job.

"Well, I… It's… You… What?" She shook her head, a non-understanding look on her face. Grinning, he got up from the bench. Before she realized what he was going to do, he lifted her off the bench, holding her in his arms as a groom who carried his bride over the threshold. She immediately smiled at him, nodding understandingly. "I see… But you're not wearing your tuxedo…"

"Does that mean we should forget about the end of your dream?" he asked her, pretending to be very disappointed. She lowered her voice, almost whispering: "Absolutely not…"

They both bent forward, but of course Greg's phone chose to ring at that very moment. Both groaning, he put her down and checked his phone.

"Russell wants to know where we are," he told her with a sigh. "I guess we should go…"

"Yeah…" The happy sparkle in her eyes was gone, her worries clearly back. She started to walk away, but before she could take two steps, he had grabbed her arm, pulled her close and kissed her. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, even though she knew just as well as he did that they couldn't continue their kiss for very long. As compromise, a very lousy compromise, he held out his hand. She directly took it and kept holding it as they walked back to CSI and entered the building. They were still holding hands when they entered the breakroom.

"Morgan, you're back!" A happy exclamation from Nick, followed by a worried look. "How are…"

He swallowed his question as he saw the two of them holding hands. "Right, never mind. Russell told us we get to choose ourselves which case we want to start working on tonight. Which one do you want? A restaurant owner found dead in his own kitchen, a man found dead in his neighbor's pool…"

"That one's mine!" came Sara's voice from behind them, followed by Finn's voice calling out she wanted to work the restaurant case. Nick immediately protested. With a smile on her face, Morgan looked up at Greg. He smiled back at her, knowing she was fine now. He didn't have to worry anymore.


End file.
